Nicholas Monroe Explained

Nicholas Monroe
Residence:Austin, Texas, U.S.
Birth Date:12 April 1982
Birth Place:Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
Turnedpro:2004
Retired:2022
Plays:Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
College:University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Careerprizemoney:US$1,498,916
Singlesrecord:0–0
Singlestitles:0
Highestsinglesranking:No. 253 (19 September 2011)
Australianopenresult:Q2 (2007)
Wimbledonresult:Q1 (2008)
Usopenresult:Q1 (2008, 2011)
Doublestitles:4 ATP, 13 Challengers
Highestdoublesranking:No. 30 (2 October 2017)
Australianopendoublesresult:3R (2021)
Frenchopendoublesresult:QF (2020)
Wimbledondoublesresult:3R (2017)
Usopendoublesresult:QF (2017)
Australianopenmixedresult:1R (2018)
Frenchopenmixedresult:1R (2014)
Wimbledonmixedresult:3R (2016)
Usopenmixedresult:2R (2017)
Updated:6 February 2023
Medaltemplates-Expand:Yes

Benjamin Nicholas Monroe (born April 12, 1982) is an American former professional tennis player. Monroe was a doubles specialist. He reached a career-high ATP doubles ranking of No. 30 on 2 October 2017 and won four ATP Tour doubles titles and thirteen ATP Challenger Tour titles in his career.[1]

He briefly coached American player Jack Sock in the off season in 2022 and in 2023.[2] [3]

College career

Monroe had a highly successful college career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 2000 to 2004. His achievements include:

Professional career

2001

Nicholas competed in doubles in his first main-draw Futures match. He and partner (compatriot) Tripp Phillips lost in the first round of USA F21. This was the only tour event he competed in 2001.[1]

2002

Monroe reached the quarterfinals of his first Futures tournament in singles play, USA F11, played in Peoria, Illinois in July.

2003

Nicholas won his first Futures doubles match, partnering Yannis Vlachos to the semifinals of Slovenia F1.[1]

2004: Turned Pro

After playing only four Futures events in 2003, Monroe played, from June, a full schedule in 2004. In his first doubles tournament of the year, he reached his first final, partnering Jonathan Igbinovia. In August he reached his first singles semifinal, at Indonesia F2 in Makassar. In October, Monroe captured his first doubles Futures title, in doubles, partnering Márcio Torres, at Venezuela F3. He won a second two weeks later, Mexico F17, playing alongside Jeremy Wurtzman. Later in November, Monroe played in his first Challenger tournament, the Puebla Challenger in Puebla, Mexico, losing in the first round to Santiago González. In doubles, he and Wurtzman reached the semifinals. Three weeks later in Guadalajara, however, he won two Challenger matches to reach the quarterfinals.

2005

His first full year as a professional, Nicholas played ITF Circuit and USTA Pro Circuit events. He reached his first final and won his first singles title at the ITF Circuit event in South Africa, when he defeated Stephen Mitchell. Highly successful in doubles, Nick won four titles in 2005: with Jeremy Wurtzman at the USTA Pro Circuit event in Orange Park, Florida; with Izak van der Merwe at ITF Circuit events in Botswana and Zimbabwe; and with Sam Warburg at the ITF Circuit event in Israel.

Monroe competed in 29 events in 2005, all but one of which were Futures. He lost in the first round of his only main draw Challenger event singles match, to Zack Fleishman at the Cuenca Challenger. Monroe won his first singles title, South Africa F1 in late October, defeating Stephen Mitchell in the final.[1]

2006

Nicholas started the year by winning the ITF Circuit title in Costa Rica. A month later, he won another ITF title, this time in Nigeria. He reached the semifinals of a USTA Pro Circuit event in Little Rock, before reaching back-to-back finals in India. He lost to Karan Rastogi in Delhi and defeated Sunil-Kumar Sipaeya in Dehradun. He reached another ITF Circuit final in the fall in Japan, where he lost to Satoshi Iwabuchi. At the beginning of the year, Nick won consecutive doubles titles on the ITF Circuit with partner Sam Warburg in Mexico and Costa Rica.[1]

2007

Nicholas began the year by attempting to qualify for the 2007 Australian Open. He defeated Jeremy Chardy in his first round singles qualifying match. He reached consecutive ITF Futures events in Japan, where he lost to Gouichi Motomura both times. He won two titles at ITF Futures events in Mexico and won a USTA Pro Circuit event in Rochester, New York, where he defeated Robert Yim in the final. The fall of 2007 saw Monroe reach the semifinals of USTAPro Circuit events in Manchester, Texas, where he lost to eventual champion Michael McClune, and Waikoloa, Hawaii where he lost to Lester Cook. He partnered with Izak van der Merwe to win the USTA Pro Circuit doubles title in Brownsville, Texas.[1]

2012: Challenger circuit doubles success

Nicholas won the Challenger in Medellin, Colombia (doubles) with his partner Maciek Sykut.

He also won two doubles Challengers in Mexico with German partner, Simon Stadler.[4]

2013–2015: First Three ATP doubles titles

Nicholas had his best year as a professional in 2013, finishing the year with a doubles Ranking of World No. 53.In January 2013, Monroe and partner Raven Klaasen made it to the semifinals of the 2013 Aircel Chennai Open, falling to Benoît Paire and Stanislas Wawrinka, after a surprise quarterfinal win over the #1 Seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Daniel Nestor.He then teamed up successfully with Simon Stadler to play the Copa Claro in Buenos Aires, Argentina. They made it to the final, falling to the Italian pair of Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli. In July 2013, he won his first ATP title in doubles also with Stadler at the 250 level at the 2013 Bastad Skistar Swedish Open and reached the final of the 2013 Umag Open in Croatia also on clay.

2017–18: Continued doubles success: First Masters final & US Open quarterfinal, top 30 debut

Following three semi-final finishes in Chennai, Auckland and Quito all with Artem Sitak, Monroe reached a top 40 doubles ranking of No. 39 on 3 April 2017 after the biggest run of his career to the final of the 2017 Miami Open with Jack Sock.[5] He later peaked at a career-high of No. 30 on 2 October 2017 after reaching his ninth final at the 2017 ATP Shenzhen Open partnering Nikola Mektic.

Partnering Artem Sitak he reached the third round at the 2017 Wimbledon Championships for their first time at this Major and in his career. With John-Patrick Smith at the 2017 US Open, he reached the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam also for the first time in his career.

The pair also won the title at the 2018 Atlanta Open, and reached earlier in February 2018 the final at the 2018 Delray Beach Open, Monroe’s tenth.

2019–2021: Thirteenth final, Second Major quarterfinal at the French Open

Monroe reached the final of the 2019 Winston-Salem Open partnering compatriot Tennys Sandgren.

Partnering fellow American Tommy Paul, he also reached at the 2020 French Open the second doubles Grand Slam quarterfinal of his career.

He reached the third round at the 2021 Australian Open for the first time at this Major partnering compatriot Frances Tiafoe.

2022: Retirement

He entered the main draw at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships as an alternate pair again with Tommy Paul.[6] He played his last match on the ATP tour at the 2022 US Open with Keegan Smith as a wildcard pair, where they lost to Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli in the second round.

World TeamTennis

Nicholas has played three seasons with World TeamTennis starting in 2006 when he debuted in the league with the Springfield Lasers, followed by a season with the Kansas City Explorers in 2012 and the Washington Kastles in 2019. It was announced that he will re-joining the Washington Kastles during the 2020 WTT season set to begin July 12 at The Greenbrier.[7]

Significant finals

ATP Masters 1000 finals

Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)

ResultYearwidth=150TournamentSurfacewidth=160Partnerwidth=160Opponentswidth=125 class="unsortable"Score
Loss2017Miami OpenHard Jack Sock Łukasz Kubot
Marcelo Melo
5–7, 3–6

ATP career finals

Doubles: 13 (4 titles, 9 runner-ups)

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–1)
ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0)
ATP World Tour 250 Series (4–8)
Finals by surface
Hard (2–4)
Clay (2–4)
Grass (0–1)
Finals by setting
Outdoor (3–9)
Indoor (1–0)
ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Loss0–1Argentina Open,
Argentina
250 SeriesClay Simon Stadler Simone Bolelli
Fabio Fognini
3–6, 2–6
Win1–1Swedish Open,
Sweden
250 SeriesClay Simon Stadler Carlos Berlocq
Albert Ramos Viñolas
6–2, 3–6, [10–3]
Loss1–2Croatia Open,
Croatia
250 SeriesClay Simon Stadler Martin Kližan
David Marrero
1–6, 7–5, [7–10]
Win2–2Swedish Open,
Sweden (2)
250 SeriesClay Johan Brunström Jérémy Chardy
Oliver Marach
4–6, 7–6(7–5), [10–7]
Loss2–3Romanian Open,
Romania
250 SeriesClay Artem Sitak Marius Copil
Adrian Ungur
6–3, 5–7, [15–17]
Loss2–4Hall of Fame Open,
United States
250 SeriesGrass Mate Pavić Jonathan Marray
Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi
6–4, 3–6, [8–10]
Win3–4Stockholm Open,
Sweden
250 SeriesHard (i) Jack Sock Mate Pavić
Michael Venus
7–5, 6–2
Loss3–5Miami Open,
United States
Masters 1000Hard Jack Sock Łukasz Kubot
Marcelo Melo
5–7, 3–6
Loss3–6Shenzhen Open,
China
250 SeriesHard Nikola Mektić Alexander Peya
Rajeev Ram
3–6, 2–6
Loss3–7Delray Beach Open,
United States
250 SeriesHard John-Patrick Smith Jack Sock
Jackson Withrow
6–4, 4–6, [8–10]
Loss3–8Istanbul Open,
Turkey
250 SeriesClay Ben McLachlan Dominic Inglot
Robert Lindstedt
6–3, 3–6, [8–10]
Win4–8Atlanta Open,
United States
250 SeriesHard John-Patrick Smith Ryan Harrison
Rajeev Ram
3–6, 7–6(7–5), [10–8]
Loss4–9Winston-Salem Open,
United States
250 SeriesHard Tennys Sandgren Łukasz Kubot
Marcelo Melo
7–6(8–6), 1–6, [3–10]

ATP Challenger Tour finals

Doubles: 33 (13–20)

ResultW–LDateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Loss0–1Joplin, United StatesHard (i) Jeremy Wurtzman Rik de Voest
Łukasz Kubot
6–7(4–7), 4–6
Loss0–2Yuba City, United StatesHard Horia Tecău Scott Lipsky
David Martin
0–6, 4–6
Loss0–3Manta, EcuadorHard Horia Tecău Eric Nunez
Jean-Julien Rojer
3–6, 2–6
Loss0–4Winnetka, United StatesHard Izak van der Merwe Patrick Briaud
Chris Drake
6–7(5–7), 4–6
Loss0–5Donetsk, Ukraine Hard Patrick Briaud Philipp Petzschner
Simon Stadler
5–7, 6–3, [6–10]
Win1–5Yuba City, United StatesHard Michael Yani Jan-Michael Gambill
Scott Oudsema
6–4, 6–4
Loss1–6Granby, CanadaHard Alberto Francis Philip Bester
Peter Polansky
6–2, 1–6, [5–10]
Loss1–7Waco, United StatesHard Alberto Francis Alex Bogomolov Jr.
Dušan Vemić
4–6, 7–5, [8–10]
Win2–7Puebla, MexicoHard Eric Nunez Daniel Garza
Santiago González
4–6, 6–3, [10–6]
Win3–7Carson, United StatesHard Brian Battistone Artem Sitak
Leonardo Tavares
5–7, 6–3, [10–4]
Loss3–8Sacramento, United StatesHard Donald Young Rik de Voest
Izak van der Merwe
6–4, 4–6, [7–10]
Loss3–9Bangkok, ThailandHard Ludovic Walter Pierre-Ludovic Duclos
Riccardo Ghedin
4–6, 4–6
Loss3–10Sacramento, United StatesHard Jack Sock Carsten Ball
Chris Guccione
6–7(3–7), 6–1, [5–10]
Loss3–11Honolulu, United StatesHard Jack Sock Amer Delić
Travis Rettenmaier
4–6, 6–7(3–7)
Loss3–12Dallas, United StatesHard (i) Jack Sock Chris Eaton
Dominic Inglot
7–6(8–6), 4–6, [17–19]
Win4–12Barranquilla, ColombiaClay Maciek Sykut Marcel Felder
Frank Moser
2–6, 6–3, [10–5]
Win5–12San Luis Potosí, MexicoClay Simon Stadler Andre Begemann
Jordan Kerr
3–6, 7–5, [10–7]
Loss5–13Tunis, TunisiaClay Simon Stadler Jerzy Janowicz
Jürgen Zopp
6–7(1–7), 3–6
Win6–13Milan, ItalyClay Simon Stadler Andrey Golubev
Yuri Schukin
6–4, 3–6, [11–9]
Loss6–14Belém, BrazilHard Simon Stadler John Peers
John-Patrick Smith
3–6, 2–6
Loss6–15San Juan, ArgentinaHard Simon Stadler Martín Alund
Horacio Zeballos
6–3, 2–6, [12–14]
Win7–15Medellín, ColombiaClay Simon Stadler Renzo Olivo
Marco Trungelliti
6–4, 6–4
Loss7–16Bordeaux, FranceClay Simon Stadler Christopher Kas
Oliver Marach
6–2, 4–6, [1–10]
Win8–16Prostějov, Czech RepublicClay Simon Stadler Mateusz Kowalczyk
Lukáš Rosol
6–4, 6–4
Win9–16San Marino, San MarinoClay Simon Stadler Daniele Bracciali
Florin Mergea
6–2, 6–4
Loss9–17Rennes, FranceHard (i) Simon Stadler Oliver Marach
Florin Mergea
4–6, 6–3, [7–10]
Win10–17Geneva, SwitzerlandHard (i) Johan Brunström Oliver Marach
Philipp Oswald
5–7, 7–5, [10–6]
Loss10–18Aix-en-Provence, FranceClay Artem Sitak Robin Haase
Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi
1–6, 2–6
Win11–18Winnetka, United StatesHard Johan Brunström Sekou Bangoura
Frank Dancevic
4–6, 6–3, [10–8]
Loss11–19Cary, United StatesHard Austin Krajicek Chase Buchanan
Blaž Rola
4–6, 7–6(7–5), [4–10]
Loss11–20Champaign, United StatesHard (i) Austin Krajicek David O'Hare
Joe Salisbury
1–6, 4–6
Win12–20Irving, United StatesHard Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi Chris Guccione
André Sá
6–2, 5–7, [10–4]
Win13–20Houston, United StatesHard Austin Krajicek Marcelo Arévalo
James Cerretani
4–6, 7–6(7–3), [10–5]

Doubles performance timeline

Current after the 2022 US Open.

Tournament20122013201420152016201720182019202020212022SRW–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian OpenA1R1R1R1R2R1R1RA3R1R0 / 93–9
French OpenAA2R2R2R1R1RAQF2R2R0 / 88–8
WimbledonQ12R1R2R1R3R1R2Rstyle=color:#767676NH1R2R0 / 96–9
US Open2R1R1R1R3RQF1R1R1R1R2R0 / 116–11
style=text-align:leftWin–loss1–11–31–42–43–45–40–41–33–23–43–40 / 3723–37
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells MastersAAAAAA1RANHA0 / 10–1
Miami OpenAAAAQFbgcolor=thistleF1RAstyle=color:#767676NH1R0 / 45–4
Monte-Carlo MastersAAAAAAAAstyle=color:#767676NHA0 / 00–0
Madrid OpenAAAAA2RAAstyle=color:#767676NHA0 / 11–1
Italian OpenAAAAA2RAAAA0 / 11–1
Canadian OpenAAAAA1RAAstyle=color:#767676NHA0 / 10–1
Cincinnati MastersAAAAAA2R1RA2R0 / 32–3
Shanghai MastersAAAAA1RAANH0 / 10–1
Paris MastersA2RAAQF2RAAAA0 / 34–3
style=text-align:leftWin–loss0–01–10–00–03–27–61–30–10–00–10–00 / 1412–14
Career statistics
style=text-align:leftTournaments31724232931291982411218
style=text-align:leftTitles011100100004
style=text-align:leftFinals0313023100013
style=text-align:leftOverall win–loss2–315–1613–2317–2220–2932–3121–2810–196–911–247–11154–214
style=text-align:leftYear-end ranking795365555230651007498182

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Nicholas Monroe Player Activity. ATP World Tour.
  2. Web site: Jack Sock Has New Coach But Loses Again · Tennis-Prose.com. March 11, 2023.
  3. Web site: Sock Drops Monroe As Coach . March 23, 2023.
  4. Web site: Nick Monroe Interview: Pro Doubles Player & Tennis Channel Analyst. November 25, 2020.
  5. Web site: Monroe Riding High on Late Doubles Breakthrough | ATP Tour | Tennis.
  6. Web site: Blumberg & Monroe Playing at Wimbledon . July 10, 2023 .
  7. News: World TeamTennis Adds Stars Tiafoe, Puig, Roanic, Bouchard, & Sock As Rosters Set For 2020 . WTT.com . June 16, 2020 .